Currently Reading

Thursday, 31 December 2015

Is it really that time of year again? Already?! Really. Wow. 2015 has well and truly flown by. It's been a crazy one for me for a lot of real life reasons and it shall forevermore by known as The Year of the Reading Slump! I don't know what was the matter with me this year but I have suffered far more reading slumps than I ever have and I am hoping 2016 isn't like that and that I can read and review a lot lot more rather than sit there feeling pretty darn lost, which I have at times this year. Anyway, on with the post. These are my top 10 reads of 2015 and hot damn there are some STUNNING books that have been released this year. It was so hard to decide on these, especially the top 5, I struggled so hard! Let's go!

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10) Billionaire Boy by David Walliams.

Although this wasn't published this year, I read it this month so I'm sticking it in. It was a fun read and only my second stab at Walliams and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to reading more of his work. It has a slightly Dahl-esque feel that makes me feel all warm when reading it.

9) The Crocodile Tomb by Michelle Paver.

Ah. This lady never fails to amaze me, and the penultimate edition of the Gods and Warriors series is no exception! I cannot wait for Warrior Bronze to come out in August 2016!

8) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Again, a book not published this year but one I have wanted to read for so so long and finally did this year. And what a gem it is! Amazing. No other words are needed.

7) The Death Code by Lindsay Cummings.

Lindsay brings the amazing story that began with The Murder Complex to a somewhat brief (I WANT MORE PLEASE!!!!) but stunning conclusion in this book. Sublime!

6) All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.

OH MY! What a book. One of the first I read in 2015 and it had me in floods of tears. Incredible, and with a movie in the pipe-line I hope it's popularity only continues to flourish!

5) The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury.

If you're looking for a book to take you by the hand and drag you into a world and so intoxicatingly amazing, look no further than this book. Honestly, it's beautiful from start to finish and Melinda is amazing. The sequel, The Sleeping Prince is out in February, so you have a bit of time to read this and get caught up!

4) Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

I MEAN! Just amazing. If you haven't read it yet, you need to! Just go! I can't wait for the second book, Glass Sword, to come out in Feb!

3) Simon VS. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.

This book, guys, is a must read. It's beautifully written, touching and so relevant to so many people. Just absolute perfection.

2) Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas.

This year feels like a real Maas year for me. I read A Court of Thorns and Roses (which was STUNNING!!!) earlier in the year and then marathoned Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows when the latter title was published in September and oh boy is she incredible. She writes such amazing, three-dimensional characters and her worlds are incredible. I can't wait for book 5!

And finally we come to my top read of 2015. Like I said at the top of the post, the top 5 especially was INSANELY hard to choose. But I'm sticking with my choice and I've chosen a book that I think is so important and just so amazing, it can't not be number 1!

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1) More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera.

Oh gosh, I do not know where to start with this book. It was just so beautiful, so real, so raw and so close to home that it took a hold of my heart right away and has cemented itself as a firm favourite book ever, let alone for just 2015. It's amazing and Adam is so talented and just gets it. It's amazing to read. I can't wait for his next book due in 2017, but for now, this is my favourite read of 2015!

It's been an amazing year with some amazing reads and I am excited to see what 2016 has in store. I'm also hoping for no reading slumps in 2016, at least as bad as the ones I've had this year so that I can get back to blogging more. Fingers crossed!

Thursday, 10 December 2015

I am so excited for James Dasner's The Fever Code! It serves as the second prequel to his hugely successful The Maze Runner trilogy, with the first prequel, The Kill Order, published a few years ago. Now, Dashner is set to show how the maze itself was built as that is what The Fever Code focuses on. Even the newly released cover shows that, looking eerily similar to the cover of the first book, only with the maze looking like a construction site. It looks great and I can't wait! It's out September 2016! Only 9 months to go!

Official synopsis: "The Leteo Institute's revolutionary memory-relief procedure seems too good to be true to Aaron Soto -- miracle cure-alls don't tend to pop up in the Bronx projects. But Aaron can't forget how he's grown up poor or how his friends aren't always there for him. Like after his father committed suicide in their one bedroom apartment. Aaron has the support of his patient girlfriend, if not necessarily his distant brother and overworked mother, but it's not enough.Then Thomas shows up. He has a sweet movie-watching setup on his roof, and he doesn't mind Aaron's obsession with a popular fantasy series. There are nicknames, inside jokes. Most importantly, Thomas doesn't mind talking about Aaron's past. But Aaron's newfound happiness isn't welcome on his block. Since he can't stay away from Thomas or suddenly stop being gay, Aaron must turn to Leteo to straighten himself out, even if it means forgetting who he is. Adam Silvera's extraordinary debut novel offers a unique confrontation of race, class and sexuality during one charged near-future summer in the Bronx."

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When a book turns up in the post that you have been dying to read for a very long time, like a year or more, there are always a mixture of feelings that run through you. Excitement that it is finally here. Admiration at that BEAUTIFUL cover art you are finally seeing on a lovely finished copy. But also a feeling of fear. What if the book you've been building yourself up for doesn't live up to your expectations? What if the book falls short of what you were hoping it would be and you wish you hadn't bothered? I had all of these feelings when my copy of More Happy Than Not FINALLY turned up! I'd been following Adam on Instagram and Twitter for a very long time, ever since the book was initially announced. I'm not sure how I found him, but he's amassed a very big following, way before publication and the more I heard and saw of the book the more I could not wait to get my grubby paws on a copy!

I'm not going to lie, I was slightly worried to start this book. I wanted to like it so bad that I just hoped it was going to live up to what I was hoping it would be. I'd read reviews from some people in the US where they sent out review copies ahead of publication, and the pre-publication buzz was phenomenal for this book, surely all those people couldn't be wrong, could they? Well as it turns out, no they were not wrong, and I had nothing to worry about, because as soon as I started to read, Aaron's voice took me over completely and I was compelled to continue on his journey with him.

The book surprised me completely. Totally surprised me. It went in a completely and utterly different direction to the one I had been expecting and I am grateful for that. This is not your average "Oh I'm gay, I'm falling in love with a guy that doesn't love me because he's straight" LGBT kind of story. Anything but. This is a story about a boy who firmly believes he is straight until he meets Thomas who changes everything. And the TWIST!!!! Oh man the twist! I was sent reeling! I'm not even going to lie, once the twist kicked in, about 150 pages from the end I literally wanted to throw the book across the room and take a break because I could not handle it! I did not see that coming in a month of Sundays and I absolutely loved it. Honestly, guys, it will blow your mind!The book reads like a contemporary but there is a science fiction element that I really enjoyed and found intriguing. Memory alteration has been achieved. Revolutionary neuroscience has meant that the ever growing Leteo Institute can relieve you of unwanted and painful memories that are impeding your quality of life.The writing is immaculate. It's almost lyrical and so captivating, Aaron's voice so clear and fresh and accessible. Aaron feels so relatable, especially I guess, coming from someone who has also struggled with their sexuality, I get where he's coming from and the things he thinks and feels. It meant that I really got into Aaron's head and he got into mine. His fears and feelings mirrored some of those I had years ago when I struggled and the book itself made me question how I would react if I were in Aaron's situation. Thankfully, I live in a part of the world where I'm not that likely to be beaten like Aaron because I'm gay. But that is the beauty of reading and it is something that Silvera has done so, so well. Any author who is worth their salt will totally transport you into this world, into the characters and make you think and feel and question. It was so easy for me to put myself into Aaron's world and wonder what it would be like to walk the streets and have to completely hide everything I am and ever will be. It was almost a terrifying experience as I don't think I'm as strong as Aaron and most definitely wouldn't be able to face it as bravely as he does at points in the novel.There is a great cast of characters too. Some of the side characters, Aaron's friends, such as Me-Crazy, Brandon and the whole ensemble kind of blended into each other at times and I did find myself struggling to remember who was who and who had said what, but the main cast are all so well defined. Of course, there's Aaron. But Genevieve, Aaron's current girlfriend, Thomas, Aaron's new best friend who he finds himself falling for, and Aaron's mother and brother, Eric, all have their roles to play in pulling the story forward to a conclusion that actually made me feel pretty sad. I won't lie, it's kind of bleak but it's also kind of freeing and happy at the same time. You'll get what I mean if you read the book. Part of me really, really, REALLY, wants to demand a sequel. To see what happens next. To see if Leteo can put right their wrongs, but then part of me wonders how that will work as I feel the real message of the book has already been shown. You can hide, and pretend, and even go to extreme measures to try and change who you really are. But you can never hide well enough, you can never pretend without slipping up at some point, and extreme measures never seem to end so well. Trying to change who you are is impossible and you need to find the happiness in what you've got, rather than what you haven't got.I also found the dynamic between Aaron and his recently deceased father incredible to read. My own father has never been anything other than supportive of me, but I know that that isn't the case for everyone and sometimes things are so bad that there is no way to repair it. But how would you cope, knowing that your father hated you so much that he'd rather be dead? It's something that is hard to think about but that's the beauty of this book. It is highly thought provoking and engaging.I cannot stress how important books like this actually are. They're real, and honest, and more often than not, they're life altering. If this book had been around when I was growing up and coming to terms with myself I would of devoured it and loved every second, only adding fuel to the flame that was inside of me just waiting for its time to shine. Books like More Happy Than Not help people and they shouldn't be shied away from or denied! I cannot recommend it enough, every time I see someone on twitter or goodreads say they've got it or they have started reading it I just get so excited and know they're about to read something truly wonderful. I cannot thank Adam enough for writing such a stunning book, and look forward to reading his next book History Is All You Left Me, which is due out in 2017! It's a long wait but I'm certain it will be worth it!

About Me

I am 26 years old (live in the UK) and love reading. I read a lot of Young Adult/teen fiction. If you are an author, publisher or publicist and would like me to review/promote your book, or to hold a contest/author interview, please e-mail me at empire-of-books@live.co.uk. Thank you.
Blogging since February 2010.